We are in the heart of our winter vegetable season at the Fernandina Beach Market Place farmers market, but if this warm weather continues those winter-time favorites will soon be out of season. The farmers market will be open on February 17, 2018, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., in historic, downtown Fernandina Beach. Here are some of the vegetables, and where you can find them at the Market Place, that are in season now. Yellow squash, cabbage, broccoli, and greens are plentiful at the Boatright Farm’s booth. Kings Kountry Produce has Tommy’s fresh strawberries, Brussel sprouts, cheddar cauliflower, and Romanesco. Cabbage Creek Farm, in Nassau County, is a small family farm that is producing fresh carrots, mixed salad greens, baby kale and other great salad additions. Bacon’s Select Produce grows their seedless cucumbers, kale, arugula, and red and green butter head lettuce in greenhouses in Oceanway; you can enjoy these healthy veggies all year long.

Other specialty dishes are available at the farmers market, too. This week we will see the return of Jay’s Marketplace and their chopped olive salad, as well as the Ethiopian Coffee from Bunna Cafe. Rose will be at the market this week with her Unbelievable Egg Rolls and her new product, Rose’s Beef Jerky. She makes the jerky with her custom soy sauces and fine slices of London broil. Other vendors we haven’t seen in awhile who will also be returning are Steephill Designs with their delicious, direct-from-Vermont maple syrups, Something Good’s all gluten-free booth full of cookies, biscuits, sweet breads and more, and B and D Hot Sauce will be back with their hot, very hot, and insanely hot pepper mash made from Bohemian bird peppers..

Our musicians are a special feature of the farmers market and perform only for tips. Playing this week is Lucas Merren, a talented Tallahassee guitarist who plays acoustic pop rock.